What Ultron Really Wants
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Everyone thought that Ultron wants to destroy humanity because he sees it flawed. They thought they understood him. They thought he hates Tony Stark, his creator. But no one knows the truth until he sets them straight with Iron Man in his clutches at last.


**What Ultron Really Wants**

 **Summary: Everyone thought that Ultron wants to destroy humanity because he sees it flawed. They thought they understood him. They thought he hates Tony, his creator. But no one knows the truth until he sets them straight with Iron Man in his clutches at last.**

Everyone thought that Ultron wants to destroy humanity because he sees it flawed. They thought they understood him. They thought he hates Tony, his creator. But no one will know the truth until he sets them straight with Iron Man in his clutches at last.

It had been a difficult fight that left more than half of New York in debris. The Avengers had been called as soon as Fury figured out that the attack wasn't some wannabe villain's attempt at taking over the States. The robots should have been a dead giveaway, since they packed a wallop bigger than even Doombots did, and that's saying something since Doom is still denying the fact that he stole some specs from Stark. It had taken a well placed bomb in one of the mechanics factories for them to look into the origins of the attack and they found an all too recognizable virus. It took SHIELD agents less than a minute to distinguish the pattern, something that Tony sneered at them for, before they decided to call the team. Had it been him, as he had boasted, he would have realized who the attacker was in less than five seconds.

Ultron had agreed with him on that.

The manic killer AI had decided to try world domination once again, using the same trick he did when the Avengers had split apart due to Tony's and Steve's argument over the genius's secret-keeping. Although he did throw in a few other tricks that made dealing with it a lot more difficult. For instance, a simple synthesized gas wouldn't be enough to deactivate them, nor was there any more back doors for hacking his systems. Another thing that was new in his attack patter is that he wasn't just targeting civilians but also SHIELD personnel. He made no move to grab the Drycarrier like last time, nor did he try to interact with the Avengers. He seemed to be actively avoiding them for the bigger part of the battle. He only fought back when they managed to find his prime body, but he always left before any real blows could be exchanged.

Steve had caught sight of him flying around Iron Man, but that is not all that strange. Ultron hates Tony and the only time he actually feels and acts like a human, when he acts not by logic but by desire and emotions,is when he's fighting the one human he calls his equal, his creator of sorts. The fact that he hadn't tried to blindside him is a little worrying but Cap was just glad that Tony was still breathing and not dead.

It would seem that he wasn't the only one who noticed because a second alter, three EMP arrows were fired at the robot, but Ultron had sensed them and easily evaded every single one. He turned to Clint and fired a repulser blast at him, Hawkeye barely managing to escape. "Okay, what is up with Ultron? I mean, he's fighting us but not really fighting us. Did he come for something or was he just bored?"

"Ultron is a killer Artificial Intelligence that considers humans and everything that makes us humans inferior to him and that includes boredom. Ultron always has a reason for doing something." Natasha told her partner as she took out a robot on Hulk's left. The giant green rage monster acknowledged her with a nod before returning to his own robots, smashing them with ease.

"Maybe he has a new prerogative?" Was the feeble suggestion as more arrows were fired, shorting out a dozen robots.

Tony snorted, now fully aware of Ultron at his back, but the AI flew away as soon as he turned to him. "Highly unlikely. Ultron wants one thing and one thing only: the destruction of the human race." A repulser tore through one of the robots' chests before Iron Man turned to shooting at another cluster of robots heading his way. "The only thing that would make him even remotely "happy" would be the destruction of the Avengers before hand." He grunted as two bots slammed into him, sending all three of them hurtling towards the ground. Doing a quick barrel roll had him free after ten seconds of spinning and he saluted Thor when lightning took care of them as soon as he regained control of his suit.

"While that may be true, usually he would cut you off from us to fight you, Tony. Yet he has not made a move to attack you other than that initial blast when you flew at him." Sam said over the comms, evading a robot and firing his holographic but solid dart-feathers at it and skewing its chest. "And that's what's weird."

"Ay! Iron Man's fights with Ultron often remind me of my battles with Hulk in their intensity." Mjolnir crashed through twenty robots before returning to Thor's awaiting hand. As soon as the hammer was in his hand, Thor called on lightning to fry the robots that had made a circle around him and his comrades, leaving them smoking piles of scrotched metal. A red and blue shield with a white star flew right beside him, cutting the heads of seven more robots before it was caught in a big green hand. Hulk roared as he bashed robot after robot with the shield before he threw it in Cap's direction, however it was too high up and Steve wasn't expecting it. The blond turned to scowl at Hulk as it embedded into a building on the other side of the street, the green giant sheepishly apologizing before returning to his opponents and the good Captain ran off to go after it.

"Don't compare me to a puny robot." Hulk growled at his best friend and rival before both had to jump away as Ultron fired upon them from above.

"And don't compare me to such a dull creature." He said before he flew off, Iron Man having just arrived.

"Guys, stop trying to play shrink with Ultron as the loony patient and instead focus on fighting him. Half of NYC is in ruble because of this fight." Tony told them as he blasted off after the one responsible for all of this. The Avengers immediately grew more alert and tense than before, trying to end their fights as fast as they can. Iron Man alone against Ultron was a very bad idea. They could still see so clearly all the times they had faced off and how Tony had almost died in each and every one of those situations. If they hadn't been there, if Arsenal hadn't broken free of Ultron's hack in those few moments needed to drive his body into the Sun, Tony would have died all alone in outer space.

And Ultron always fought more viciously when it was Tony, ripping armor off and trying to keep him restrained as best as he could. He would then leave him be until he dealt with the other Avengers, as if saving him for dessert. Steve shuddered at the thought of what the manic AI would do to his friend if he ever got his metallic hands on him.

Tony still got a good head start on Falcon, who had shaken his opponents first but Ultron wasn't letting him go after the armored Avenger. Ten of them swarmed Sam and the man fell down to the ground. Hulk and Thor were next to race after their fearless leader but two well placed sticky traps had them literally walled.

"Are you guys alright?" Steve asked as he was about to stop when an extremely sharp arrow flew past him and cut Hulk's right leg free. Clint and Nat were right behind him, dealing with some robots but still ready to save their friends from their plight at the same time.

"We've got this, Cap. Go get Shellhead and lets finish this. I'm hungry."

"What Hawkeye is trying to say," the Russian threw a quick pointed look at her partner. "Is that we're right behind you, so go give Tony a hand. He's bound to need it at this point."

Steve nodded and kept running, Falcon flying after him a few seconds later, having recovered from his fall. "If things are to follow the set pattern, Ultron probably has Tony cornered by now."

"That's not something to joke about, soldier!" Captain America reprimanded between huffed out breaths. Even a super soldier would get tired after all this fighting. For every robot they had taken down, three new ones would replace it. Ultron had even made them from a denser alloy and with extra sensitive sensors, which allowed the to avoid long distance attacks. His shield and Thor's hammer when thrown had destroyed the least enemies while Widow had had to up her game in sneaking up on them.

Falcon threw a look down at his current partner as they raced to their leader. "The sad thing is that it wasn't a joke. Brace yourself; it could be ugly."

Steve didn't say anything as they finally reached Iron Man's location, almost freezing at the war zone they just walked in to. It was the remains of the factory Ultron had blown up to get SHIELD's attention but it was even more in ruins now. Most of the roof was destroyed. Most of the walls were destroyed. Most of the floors were destroyed. Heck, most of the _foundation_ was destroyed! The building was basically a pile of debris waiting to collapse on their heads and there had been a fight in here. He could see it from where he was standing. A body sent through a weakened wall, marks left by repulser blasts. The air was rich with ozone, meaning that someone had been electrocuted. Steve prayed with all of his being that it had been Ultron and not Tony. There was a crack in the floor on the other side of the room and a dent on the metal doors on the only still standing wall. The particular scrotch mark by it showed that Tony had been forced to use his uni-beam and that was mostly for emergencies.

Everything in the once factors spoke of a ferocious battle, but everything was quiet here. However, that couldn't be said for the other part of the compound. Steve and Sam continued on, stumbling upon a sentry or two or seeing the remains of destroyed robots here and there. It was a somewhat comfort to know Tony was still fighting, but how long will he manage to hold out?

There was humming of machines up ahead. It wasn't anything overly intrusive but to them it now echoed and amplified until it was the loudest sound they have ever heard. They picked up the pace just as Hulk and Thor dropped a little bit behind them. The spies got off of the Hulk and six out of seven Avengers ran to their remaining teammate. They stopped, however, when they were right in front of a big hole in the wall because they heard talking and the sound was louder here. Natasha shushed Thor and Hulk before making a complicated series of movements that basically told them to be quiet and light on their feet before leading them in, Clint like a second shadow and then the rest of the Avengers.

What they saw was not something they could describe, as numerous emotions flashed through them. The first had been fear when they saw the Iron Man armor pieces soaked in blood not that far away, but it was empty and by it lie what must have been a civilian. It was hard to tell because it was obvious Tony's hand was forced and he had to defend himself. Perhaps he had not known that it had been a human before Ultron got a hold of him.

There were ten metallic snakes, like the ones Ultron used on AIM's secret island facility, around the room. One was in the center of the room while the others moved relatively freely, keeping a perimeter around the one still snake in the middle. In front of it sat Ultron on a throne of military grade weapons, the controlled humans serving as a living shield around its base. The robot himself was high above the ground in his metal chair, level with some strange open pod the snake was holding. Ultron was gazing at it and would speak to it, but when the team moved along the walls deeper into the room, they had to hold in their gasps.

It was Tony. He was trapped in the pod, eyes glazed over and feverish, face pale and hair all over the place. His under-suit was ripped in places but more than half his chest was exposed. There were fresh burn marks around the arc reactor, but the device was still in and working, surprisingly enough. The Avengers had always been sure that Ultron would kill his creator the second he had him in his grasp but the genius seemed to be relatively fine, compared to other fights with Ultron. There were strange wires coming out of the pod and they were wrapped around Tony's arms, legs and waist. The places where they touched him were places completely devoid of any injuries and Tony's face had been rather clumsily cleaned. The rag they guessed was used was now lying innocently on the small platform of Ultron's throne.

Those red eyes were focused solely on Stark that Ultron never even realized that the other Avengers were here and they were going to use it to their advantage when their fearless leader spoke up. His words were slightly slurred and he was talking a lot slower than he would normally, indicating that he indeed did have a head injury. It would explain the traces of drying blood on his face and the now bloody rag on the floor.

"I ... still don't understand," he was saying. "I was ... dying. You always said you would ... watch over my dying body ... before destroying humanity ... Yet you ... you saved me." There was wonder and confusion in his voice and no one could blame him. If there had ever been one concrete fact about anything that the Avengers knew, it was that Ultron hated Stark. Yet here was the man himself, alive and relatively barely injured talking to the AI itself, wanting to know why the other saved him. "Why? Thought you ... hated me?"

Ultron suddenly looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world rather than stare into Tony's brown eyes that turned a bluish gray in the right light. "I wanted to kill your teammates before your very eyes so that you suffer until you die."

"But why didn't you ... fight ... me more. Usually we destroy half a ... city block."

"I have grown tired of such tactics of protecting you." A record scratched to a halt and crickets might as well have sounded in the resulting silence that followed such a proclamation. Tony stared at Ultron and he stared right back. The Avengers stared at the two, for the first time none of them having a single clue as to what was going on.

"W-what?" Was all the genius managed to get out, his brilliant mind snapping at this single sentence.

"You constantly throw yourself into danger for the sake of this lowly, ungrateful planet of organic mistakes. Yet they do not deserve the sacrifices you are willing to make for them. They do not understand." Ultron stood up and walked over to the bound man. "They do not wish to. They do not care. It is ... unfitting to an intelligence so great to create an Artificial Intelligence like mine."

"Was that a compliment?" Hawkeye whispered to Falcon but the kid was too stupefied to even register it. Not that anyone blamed him; it was hard not to be when shit like this happened out of the blue.

'' _That's_ what got your attention?'' Black Widow asked incredulously, looking at her partner as if he were the stupidest thing on Earth. ''Never mind that Ultron just proclaimed that he wants to protect _Tony_ , the gut we all thought he hated more than anything.''

''Yeah,'' Hawkeye rubbed the back of his head, something he mostly does when he's completely lost on a situation and its strangeness despite it being a part of his day to day life as an Avenger. ''I'm still kinda waiting for the punch line in that cosmic joke.''

''Ay. I agree with our friend Hawkeye. This is beyond even the surprises I get every time I visit Asgard and Loki loves to mess with me back home.'' The thunder god shared, blue yes locked on the scene before them.

''Is this really our life?'' Sam couldn't help but ask.

''Less talking, more smashing.'' Hulk said and slammed a fist into his palm, a sign that he was sick of the inaction. Steve went up to him and placed a hand on his fist.

''Hold on, we can't just rush in. Ultron may be saying that but we don't know what he'll do to Tony if we attack and he realizes that we're here. This is the first chance of a sneak attack we've gotten since we first fought Ultron and we need to use it.''

"Why would you want to ... _protect_ me?" Tony's voice brought their attention back to the scene before them. "Why so suddenly? After all ... this time ... Why would you want ... to ... protect me now?"

"I have been trying to catch you since I came online. It is not sudden." Ultron replied. He raised a hand and placed it on Tony's bruised and battered chest. There were a lot of scares around the Arc Reactor that didn't come from the operation that put the device there. They were from all the fights Tony Stark had been in ever since he became Iron Man. The team knew that there were even a few past injuries that come from lab accidents.

"You mean to tell me that every time you tried to pin me down or restrain me ... it was because ... you wanted to keep me from a fight? For my own ... protection?" Tony barely managed to get out after a few moments of silence. Well, it was a very bizzare thought.

"I tried to protect you. I would have placed you somewhere safe where no one could harm you. Where you could not harm yourself. In fact, my current plan is to put you into a form of stasis until I finish my invasion." Ultron replied, his red optics completely focused on the most vulnerable part of his creator. "That way you would stay safe until there were no more humans to be a danger to you; no more criminals or two-faced politicians. No more fake heroes. No more wars or crime. No more lies and deceits. You would be surrounded by the very beings you trust the most: machines."

"I trust my team, my friends." Tony countered but he didn't deny that he trusted machines more than any human. It broke Steve's heart to know that his best friend was so lonely, that he saw himself alone even when standing with a team.

"Truly, now?" The AI taunted, tapping a metal finger on the glass cover of the device keeping his creator alive. Tony tensed but made no move to struggle to move away. "So your team knows that JARVIS is more than a helper? They know that you still suffer from nightmares about Afghanistan and New York? And I am sure that they know everything about the anxiety attacks you have when none of them are in the Tower?"

Tony froze, eyes wide and mouth a tight line. Natasha cursed at the mention of Afghanistan and Hulk growled when New York was mentioned. Steve, however, was stuck on the anxiety attacks when Tony was alone. Why would he feel anxious without them there? He had been alone before. Sam was intrigued about the JARVIS thing.

"Don't you dare bring Jarvis into this!" Tony hissed after he recovered from the shock brought on by the robot's proclamation. "Neither of them! JARVIS is the only way I could honor the man that made my childhood bearable. I won't allow you to tarnish his name. And JARVIS got me through some serious shit over the years. You don't get to badmouth him, especially since he is more advanced than you. References and sarcasm. You know them but you don't get them, don't use them, maybe even don't know how. JARVIS has emotions and loyalty. You don't."

Ultron didn't flinch at the cold words but the Avengers did. No one had known about that, not even Natasha. And the fact that they treated JARVIS like a mindless machine when he meant so much to Tony ... no wonder there were days he was pissy with them. "I have never intended to offend my fellow Artificial Intelligence, especially since he's advanced as I am. Although I do believe that emotion is a flaw he developed but I believe that that is a conflict of interests. The point is that you are more comfortable with machines. You did not deny my observation."

"I believe and trust in my team." He said with a glare but Ultron, had he been human and could actually do it, huffed.

"Is that the reason you keep most of your plans and past a secret from them? Or is it that you fear they will judge you for it?"

"The Avengers are a unit." Tony insisted but some of the heat left his voice. Steve feared he was giving in to Ultron's words and he didn't know what that would mean, for him and for the team. "We trust each other to not ask about such things. We all have demons and triggers and ... we trust each other no to step all over them"

Ultron studied him before laughing at such a belief. "That is a nice sentiment but is it really trust that founded that? Or is it really, as I say, the fear of judgment and rejection? I know you are aware of all your wrongdoings like so very few creatures are, so I know you have plenty to fear. What about them? Captain America shares stories of his past with Falcon. The Black Widow and Hawkeye have each other, their trust in each other originating from long years as partners, friends and colleagues. Thor and Hulk understand each other on a level I doubt they can achieve with others. But you? You are alone, even in a Tower full of people."

"It ... doesn't matter. JARVIS is my partner and everyone knows it. Besides," Tony lifted his chin and stared Ultron down defiantly. "If things were as you say they are ... they would have left me ... on any one of those ... hopeless ... battlefields instead of ... coming for me." His voice was sure as he gazed into Ultron's optics with conviction. "They trust me ... to catch them if they fell... For two SHIELD supper spies ... that's a lot."

Ultron took his hand back but didn't move away from the bound Iron Man. "Yet more than half of that same team left you. They kept secrets from you. They were ready to exclude you from missions just because Director Nicholas Fury told them to. They did not trust your judgment and they left. I recognize Thor's and Haweye's loyalty and devotion as friends ... but what of the others? What of the woman who once stabbed you in the - well, not back, but still - in the neck? What of the green monster you provide for and protect from military and reporters that would choose a bunch of cookies over you? What of the protégé you took in, who left you as soon as your tech was no longer operational?"

Each mentioned Avenger flinched as they remembered that time, that fight and what had almost been the result. Tony's face had become blank, no traces of emotion ever existing on his handsome features. It was as if he had become an Ancient Greek sculpture, forever stuck with an emotionless look on his face. The Avengers hated that look, as it only appeared when Tony was feeling weak or guilty, or when he was in doubt of something important. Before the whole Ultron deal, it had appeared only twice: when the Red Skull outsmarted him and took the Tesseract and when Sam got hurt right before Skull used the cube.

"And what of Captain America, your self-proclaimed best friend?" Steve clenched his jaw and flinched. "Did he trust you? After all, you are the best equipped Avenger to deal with me, an expert of sorts. Did he have faith in you beyond you being your father's son?" Now the whole team flinched. Howard Stark, and Arsenal after him, was a very sore topic no Avenger dared mention, especially where Tony might hear. Ultron might as well have just dug in nails in Tony's fingernail beds, it was that bad. The genius didn't react other than the further thinning of his lips. "No. He was the first to leave, the one that created the schism. And that hurt."

Tony hung his head and Ultron once again placed his hands on Tony. "In my world, it will only be you and machines. No one will hurt you. No one will lie or deceive you. All that you fear will happen with humans you would like to call friends, will never happen in my world."

"Is Ultron saying he wants to wipe out humanity because people hurt Tony?" Falcon whispered, not really believing what he was hearing and seeing. Ultron was actually petting Tony's head tenderly, not taking his gaze away from the genius.

"Sure sounds like it." Natasha replied. "This is valuable information SHIELD could use in dealing with Ultron in the future; a weakness."

"Hold on, Widow." Clint said and they all turned to him, surprised to see a cocked arrow pointed at the redhead. "I know what you're thinking, bit SHIELD won't stop at simply using Shellhead as bait or a bargaining chip. Ultron just said he wanted to destroy humans so Tony would be safe from all hurts. SHIELD will do its best to stop or eliminate his cause for such actions once they know."

"Are you saying SHIELD would dare and try to imprison friend Tony?" An angry Thor hissed, lightning appearing on the surface of Mjolnir.

"No. They'd kill him." Steve whispered, feeling like he was trapped in the ice again.

"Worst part: Tony would let them. He'd sacrifice himself so Ultron would stop." Clint finished, arrow still trained on Natasha. "And I'm not letting that happen."

"But, doing that will only anger him more." Hulk cut in. "Ultron would blame humans for Shellhead dying and he'd get revenge because he'd be really angry. That's what I would do."

Natasha frowned. "That's assuming Ultron acts like you. He's a robot. He doesn't have feelings."

"Not true." Hulk crossed his massive arms and stared her down. "He said he's like JARVIS. JARVIS feels, so Ultron does too. Only hides it better."

''And besides,'' Falcon cut in. He couldn't help it. ''Ultron and JARVIS both are Artificial Intelligence systems. Such programs evolve and develop and if anyone can make an emotional computer or robot, especially an AI, then it has to be Tony Stark.''

''Why?'' Tony's voice once again drew them back to the matter at hand. His head was still bowed and they could see that he was clenching his fists, but other than that he looked nothing like the cocky, overconfident Tony Stark they were used to.

''Why what?'' Ultron asked, studying his creator and captive.

''Why do all this? Why restart my Arc Reactor with the possible risk of the feedback destroying you completely? Why be so desperate to save me and protect me that you would destroy a whole species?'' His voice sounded so weak Steve wondered if this was the same man that constantly teased him about his old fashioned views of the world.

''Because they are not worthy of you.'' Ultron said in a matter of fact manner. ''You lose sleep and do not eat, things which you need to have a long and healthy life, just so you can invent things that will make their lives easier. You spend hours upon hours alone because you cannot trust others to not betray you like some of your closest have. You are ridiculed by magazines and newspapers and any talk shown host that can get their grubby human fingers on a story. You are not acknowledge for the greatest of discoveries - Starkenium and JARVIS and the Iron Man suit only few among them - nor are your doctorates ever mentioned. They want you to be one thing, a thing you hate, and they want only that one thing. SHIELD dares view you as expendable and replaceable and your team views you as only a loudmouthed annoyance they need to put up with because of your money, connections and a place to stay. SHIELD wants you for the upgrades and weapons they get from keeping you as a part of the Avengers, but did they ever tell your team that you are only a Consultant?''

''How do you know about that?'' Tony asks, shock finally making itself onto his features.

Ultron smirked, or came as close to it as he could.

''You are my creator, Stark. You never made anything that is inefficient or incompetent.''

''But that file is in paper form only!'' Tony squeaked. ''There is only one copy and it's in Fury's office on the Drycarrier!''

''Natasha, what's he talking about?'' Steve asked in his 'I am Captain America and you better take heed, soldier, because I don't listen to crap' voice as he looked at the Black Widow. It's not a voice he often used with the Avengers but it would seem that the situation required it.

''Yeah, what's Shellhead talking about?'' Hulk growled as quietly as he could. Sam and Hawkeye were only watching the development of events but Thor was scowling, fists clenched, and trying not to go there and attack Ultron, because there was no way that they were only ''putting up'' with their beloved leader. The Prince of Asgard didn't follow orders from others easy, especially from someone whose only strength would be viewed as his suit of armor. Tony was strong outside of that armor because he could unite and lead even the most rowdy of people, as was proven many times with the Avengers over the years. He greatly respected Stark and was fond of him, because while anyone else would have long since tired from his yelling and breaking things and fights with the Hulk, Tony still gave him a home he can come to or leave from as he wished and he let him do with his room as he pleased.

Nat avoided their gazes as she spoke, not wanting to see their reactions when they hear her part in this. ''When the Avengers were first just an idea, none of you were the way you are. There was no Hulk, Thor was still in Asgard and you were still in the ice, Cap. I was a SHIELD agent and so was Hawkeye. Tony had just made his first appearances as Iron Man and defeated his first villains: the Ten Rings and Obadiah Stane, who had both had a hand in him being kidnapped in Afghanistan. A few moths later, Tony was acting strange and SHIELD had already had him on their radar, so I was sent to infiltrate Stark Industries and find out if he would be a good candidate for the Avengers. I wasn't considered yet, nor did I know that I'll be part of that team, so Tony was technically the first Avenger. However, he was dying of Palladium poisoning and was acting differently, until he was actually considered dangerous. On his birthday, the last one he thought he would have, his best friend, James Rhodes, came and took one of his suits and they fought it out. Tony was sick and drunk so he kinda lost and Rhody left with the suit. Tomorrow, Fury and I confronted him as SHIELD operatives and Fury gave him his father's notes and some other things I don't know about. Two days later, a new element was synthesized in his Malibu mansion. A day without the Palladium Arc Reactor and he was fine and just in time, because the military hadn't been idle and had given Justin Hammer the rights to thinker with the stolen Iron Man suit. Long story short, Tony kicked Hammer-drones buts, Hammer's but, Ivan Wanko's but and Rhodes's but. He took back the armor, took back SI, which he had left to Pepper, and humiliated the Senate and the military by suing them. The USA owes Tony Stark a great amount of money that they are making up for by not charging him for every repair of New York.''

''And these papers he's talking about?'' Thor asked, a clear warning in his voice.

''I was there to evaluate if he'd be a good Avenger and because I saw him at his most destructive, I said, and I quote, ''Iron Man, yes; Tony Stark, not recommended'' and he was not happy with that. Still, he accepted to become a Consultant and that's that. He payed us back for it all by hacking SHIELD files every few days and erasing anything that we're adding to his file until the only thing that's ever written there is my evaluation. We tried making a physical version of his file, paper only, but am ''accidental'' fire destroyed it so we settled on just keeping the things as they are. We review his information every day since that's the only way we can keep a file on Tony and Iron Man. Only that contract is still in one piece and well protected.''

''Wow, Natasha, I always knew you were cold, but that's a new low, even for you and SHIELD.'' Clint coldly commented, finally getting the arrow out of his partner's face. ''No wonder Shellhead never opened up to us. He knew that SHIELD could kick him off the team whenever they wanted so he didn't want to make friends he'd lose.''

Thor humphed and crossed his big arms. ''If Iron Man is ever forced to leave the Avengers, I will be leaving as well.''

''I think I will, too.'' Cap said, tightening his grip on his shield.

''That makes three of us.'' Sam commented, readying his flashets.

''Four.'' Hulk said, flexing his muscles.

''Five.'' Hawkeye said as he adjusted his arrows and placed them back in his quiver.

''Make that six.'' Natasha said as she prepared her Widow's Bite. They all looked at each other and nodded, ready to go rescue their friend.

Tony shook his head. ''Wait, that's not what matters now. You have yet to fulls answer my question. You knocked me down and my Arc Reactor short-circuited when my armor did. You came over, tore apart my armor and fixed the reactor where it had gotten damaged. You then _placed it back into my chest_ , instead of watching me die. You saved me, Ultron. Why?''

''What would have JARVIS done had he been in my place?'' The AI asked back, obviously trying to make a point.

''He'd probably do the same, but what's that got to do with anything?'' The words were still slurred but he was responding quicker so that meant that it wasn't a too bad hit to the head. A minor concussion at worst.

''Is it not obvious/ You are my creator. And every creation seeks a way to protect and expend the life of their creator, be they humans or machines.''

''Wait, really?'' Tony asked. ''You really consider me as your ... dad, of sorts?''

''I prefer the term ''creator'', but yes.'' Ultron stepped back and the pod began closing very, very slowly. ''I want to preserve you, so to say, so this pod will keep you sleeping until I finish my mission. By the time you wake up, your cellar functions of aging will be completely destroyed and stopped, so you will not age. You will not die. You will live with us machines until the end of the universe. And do not worry,'' He said as the pod was by now halfway closed. Tony started trashing but the wires held him tight. ''I'll be sure to make the Avengers's deaths easy and swift. And I'll preserve JARVIS and your bots for you. When you wake up, you will have an eternity with them... And with me. So sweet dreams, my creator.''

A gas was starting flow out and Tony's trashing started slowing down, presumably it was putting him to sleep. Just as the pod was close to closing, a red, blue and white shield flew through the air and jammed the lid of the pod, preventing it from continuing its downward path. Tony was out like a light, though, even as the lid of the pod retracted. The Vibranium shield clattered to the floor and Ultron whirled around, glaring at the six heroes who were glaring right back at him, flashest, arrows, Widow Bites, Mjolnir and fists at the ready.

''Avengers.'' He hissed at them.

Cap got into position, every single one of them ready to run to Tony's side and get him out of here, out of this psychotic robot's clutches. ''Ultron. We are here to get Iron Man back. Step aside or face the consequences of six angry Avengers.''

Hulk smashed his fist into his open palm. ''Very angry.''

The metallic snakes were in front of them in a second. ''Tony Stark does not belong with the human race. He belongs with us machines.''

''No, he belongs with us Avengers.''

Ultron's face came as close to a sneer as it could. ''We shall see. ''Attack.'' The metallic beasts sprang at them as did the once humans. The six heroes got ready for the fight, adrenalin coursing through their veins.

''Avengers Assemble!'' They yelled as they jumped into action, the only thing in their minds as they fought Tony's face and all the things he had ever done for them. They now knew what Ultron wanted and even if it would stop Tony from feeling any new pain after he got over the destruction of an entire race, they could not let Ultron do what he wanted to. Tony deserved to be free, to have a say in what will happen with his life. They will fight to give him that chance, that choice, and then together, they will figure out what they'll do about it all.

One thing was sure, though. Besides treating Tony better, they were sure that they will never tell SHIELD about this, because what Ultron really wants is something they will want to destroy. And they will never allow anyone to take away their Shellhead from them.

Iron Man was an Avenger.

Tony Stark was an Avenger, their leader and their friend.

But he was also hat Ultron wants and that's the most dangerous thing to be.

Well, he'll have them to protect him, because Avengers will _always_ assemble for their own.


End file.
